Usually when it comes to making these "Best of's..." the process like most mix CD's are waaaaay to OCD, way to self indulgently agonizing. I tried this year to just keep a running list on my iTunes starting January (or as I remember it, the month Animal Collective came out with Merriweather Postpavillion) and drag 'n drop as the months tick by, the songs I thought were new, provocative, inventive, clear singles, and clearly awesome. If I had an argument with religious zealous in defense of, if I crushed on someone because they liked, if there was a song I annoyingly hummed while cleaning or pooping or making a "Best of mix", if EVER there were a song a declare in bold hyperbolic language (ie... "This shit is the best thing you'll ever hear (pant pant) it's the best....do you know your mom's f***in' amazing... what was that... meatloaf? The one with the gravy with the bits of... YEAH! YEah, that's it... well, THIS SONG is even better than that! IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO IT YOU'LL PROBABLY GO TO HELL!), then said song would inevitably make the running list. 

Problem is, what usually ends up happening is towards the end of the year when I close the ivy and start making the mix, there are of course, too many songs. Each one is unique and "great" in their own right... or they are just songs that I LIKE but are probably awful or bland to ears of others. I'd then have to debate quality base on... ahhh this is getting boring... BASICALLY, I made 2 lists: Side A and Side B. 

Side A's represent the clear as day singles and good-ass-songs of 2009. They might have made everyone else "Best of..." list, but they are such that can't be denied, certainly not by this pilgrims list. Side B are songs that are not any less "great" in quality, and like many Side B's, are deeper cuts that touch upon the musical power that resides in the ether and the dark. Or they are songs by Side A bands that are just as good but more potent in the company of non-single-y sounding tracks. Side B. They are both 17 songs long, each can JUST fit on a rewritable CD (remember those!) and 17 is a prime number, these are prime tunes.

Here it is, Best of 2009 Sides A and B!
Download both here (This time, 500 dwnlds available) : 
http://tinyurl.com/Best-of-2009-A-and-B

Side A:

1. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero (Released on March 10, 2009)
2. Animal Collective - My Girls (January 6, 2009)
3. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (February 24, 2009)
4. The Dirty Projectors - Stillness in the Move (June 9, 2009)
5. The xx - Basic Space (August 17, 2009)
6. Asobi Seksu - Familiar Light (February 17, 2009)
7. The Big Pink - Velvet (September 22, 2009)
8. Camera Obscura - French Navy (April 20, 2009)
9. Wilco - One Wing (June 30, 2009)
10. Built to Spill - Hindsight (August 11, 2009)
11. The Dodos - Fables (September 15, 2009)
12. Them Crooked Vultures - Scumbag Blues (November 17, 2009)
13. Mew - Beach (August 25, 2009)
14. Atlas Sound - Walkabout (w/ Noah Lennox) (October 20, 2009)
15. The Cribs - Emasculate Me (September 7, 2009)
16. Bat for Lashes - Daniel (April 7, 2009)
17. Yo La Tengo - And the Glitter is Gone (September 8, 2009)


***Note: I apologize for the exclusion of "You and I" by Jeff Tweedy and Feist... but I recommend heading to a Starbucks or an Old Navy, I'm sure they are playing it there! :)

Side B:

1. Grizzly Bear - Southern Point
2. Bat for Lashes - Sleep Alone
3. Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
4. Them Crooked Vultures - Elephants
5. Sonic Youth - What We Know (Released on June 9, 2009)
6. Sugar Army - Building Castles (July 10, 2009)
7. The xx - Heart Skipped a Beat 
8. The Big Pink - Dominos
9. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll
10. The Raveonettes - Boys Who Rape(Should All Be Destroyed) (October 6, 2009)
11. Health - We Are Water (May 21, 2009)
12. Atlas Sound - Quick Canal (w/ Laetitia Sadier)
13. Wilco - Bull Black Nova
14. The Dodos - Two Medicines
15. Modest Mouse - Guilty Cocker Spaniels (August 4, 2009)
16. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Gentle Sons (February 3, 2009)
17. Doves - Jetstream (April 7, 2009)

--Eugene lives in the cozy nook of Los Feliz, CA working as an actor with contributions in film, television (locally and abroad), voice over (animated series), national commercials, and has recently completed Season 1 of the Pan Asian Talent Showcase: Sutasi (www.sutasi.com). He is currently producing his first short and has previously created the “book trailer” for the eco-thriller “Save the Whales Please.” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNRGMmcvkmE) He was also DJ for the “Fiercely Independend College Radio Station: KSDT.org” (UCSD) for 2 years.

While his musings on music and such are scattered throughout notebooks, magazines, and social networking sites, Eugene will be launching his new music blog portal “RECord/reCORD” on his website: (www.eugeneclee.com). Consistently, he believes “track 4’s” on albums are the best.